Ironing-machine.



T. A. ELPHIOK.

IRONING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 00T.4, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F M A 5 WITNESSES: I INVENTOR. m MZWM. 1%

. To all whom it may concern:

moms anmnnm cams, ENGLAND.

8pm of mm Intent.

Patented Feb; 16, 1901 Application filed October 4, 19m. Serial No. 896,942.

Be it known that I, THOMAS ALEXANDER ELPrnoK, a subjectof the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at 13 Lonsdale road, Barnes, in the county of Surrey,

England, have invented new and useful Im-.

provements in and Relating to Ironing-Machines, of which the following is a full and the machine.

complete specification.

This invention relates to that type of machine for ironing collars, cuffs, shirt fronts,

and other articles requiring a high polish, which consists essentially of an endless flexible band or apron adapted to travel between one or more heated rollers and two or more show-by way of illustrationsome forms this invention may assume :Figure 1, Sheet No. 1, is a viewv in side elevation of one form the machine may assume, F 2, Sheet No. 1, is a view in plan thereof, Fig. 3, Sheet No. 2, is a view in end elevation thereof, and Fig. 4,- Sheet No. 2, is a view in end elevationpartly in section-showing a modification.

I Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like lettersof reference.

The heated rollers a."of which there are two in the'construction shown-are mounted to revolve in bear' s m in the frame :0 of

In sui t zible bearings y carried by frames y arranged to slide vertically in or with respect to the main frame a: are the su porting rollers bof which there are three in the construction shown. The heated rollers are so positioned with respect to the supporting rollers that they lie above and between the supporting rollers and each engages through the interposed flexible band orapron two of the said sup orting rollers. Consequently the endless and or apron c in passing between the rollers is constrained to contact a considerable area of the heated rollers and not merely one point thereof.

Both sets-of rollers are positively driven by gearing so designed as to give the heated rollers a a peripheral speed superior to that of the supporting rollers 12'. A. convenient form of this is that illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2 in which a spur pinion 10 on the driving shaft wgears with a spur wheel 1) on the shaft '0 which said spur wheel gears with spur pinions a a on the heated rollers a, the said spur pinions a a being of such a width that they also gear with spur pinions b b 1) on the supporting rollers.

The band or apron c is carried on two rollers (Z (Z mounted in suitable bearings d sliding in the frame a: and suitable means such as provided to both positively and automat really tension the band or apron. The bearings 2: are spring controlled as is usual in these machines so that the said rollers can .both be adjusted with respect to the supporting rollers within certain limits and can give way also within predetermined limits should anything of abnormal thickness pass between the rollers.

In the construction shown by Figs. 1 and 2 the springs are introduced between the caps of the bearings and the holding-down nuts of said caps.

The driving shaft to is provided with the usual means for reversing the motion of the rollers and consequently of the band or apron, two loose pulleys w w mounted on each side of a fixed pulley W. The bar it carrying the pocket arms u adapted to engage the two driving beltsone ofwhich is crossed-As controlled by a foot lever s mounted on one end of a longitudinally arranged shaft 8 on the other end ofwhich is an arm 8 engaging the shifting bar 11..

The rollers b are kept up to their work by means of cams e e mounted on the shaft a running in suitable'bearings 00 carried by the frame at and driven from the shaft w the said cams contacting directly or indirectly the sliding frames y carrying said rollers. The shape of these cams is such that they keep the supporting rollers up in their operative positions through, say, 300 and allow said rollers to drop so as to remove the band or apron out of contact with the heated rollers through the remaining of the revolution of the shaft e.

To enable the band or apron to be run continuously in one direction means are provided for putting the cams e, out of action. A convenient method of doin this is that shown in 3 and 4 whic consists in mounting the gear wheel '0 on the shaft 12, by whichv said shaft receives its'motion from the screws d and the springs d as shown are moved in one direction the teeth on its one end engage holes or recesses inthe face of the boss of the wheel 12 as shown in Fig. 4 and thus couple said wheel to the shaft '22. If the clutch t is moved in the opposite direction the teeth on its opposite end engage holes or recesses in the boss'of the bearing in which the shaft 1; is mounted, thus locking said shaft and therefore the cams 3- against rotation. The clutch t can be conveniently operated by a sliding bar such as t conveniently'mounted to be manipulated by the operator.

To automatically bring the machine to rest when the rollers have been separated a bell-crank lever f is pivoted on the frame :r; one arm of this lever is adapted to contact the foot lever s and so operate as a latch to hold it in its mid position in which both driving belts are on the loose pulleys 'w 'w and the machine-therefore at a state of rest. This arm or latch is normally kept clear of the foot lever s by means of a sprin such as f as shown in Fig. 3 and it is broug t into its operative position by the descent of the sliding frames 11 due to the actions of the cams e,

through a rocking lever f 3 pivoted to one of the frames y which lever is connected with the other arm of the bell-crank lever f by a flexible connection 1.

As an alternative construction the suporting rollers and the band or apron may e broughtto a state of rest by causing the shaft 1) to be de-clutched from the gear Wheel 1) when the sliding frames 'y are in their lower positions and the gear. wheels 1), b i) on the axles of the supporting rollers b are out of I gear with the gear wheels (I. a on the heated rollers a. A convenient method of effecting this is to pivot a bell-crank lever 'n on the frame :0 as shown in Fig. 4 so that its one end engages the sliding clutch t and its other end is adapted to be contacted and operated by any convenient partof one of the frames y, so that'on the descent of said frames the clutch t is withdrawn from the Wheel 0 When used as a reciprocating machine the operator causes the and or apron c, on which the articles to be ironed are laid, to move backwards and forwards'between the rollers a and b by operating the reversing mechanism by the foot lever s in the usua manner: When the articles are finished the operator depresses the foot lever so as to causethe band or apron to travel towards the back end of the machine until the part of the band or apron carrying the articles passes over the back end roller d. whereupon the said articles drop from the band or apron into a receptacle placed to receive them. At this time the cams e cause the frames y care band or, apron out of contact with the heated rollers, and also the spur gearing beout of gear, thereby bringing both the band or a ron and the supporting rollers to rest. As

by the bell-crank lever f to assume such a ositionthat when the operator releases the said latch in its mid position, by which the machine is brought toa state of rest through the medium of the loose pulleys on shaft w. The operator then laces another lot of articles on that part 0 the band or apron at the front end of the machine without having to reverse the machine to bring that part of the band or apron last used back to the front end of the machine. On depressing the foot lever s the driving shaft w is againset in motion which causes the cams to rotate and so operate to bring the supporting rollers up into their operative positions again. When used as a continuous machine the spur wheel o is de-clutched from the shaft 2) and the said shaft is clutched or coupled to the frame :0 so as to put the cams e out of action, and the belt or apron is constrained to rotate continuously in one direction by retaining the foot lever s in one position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an ironing machine, the combination of an endless band or apron, a plurality of supporting rollers mounted in fixed bearings carried by a frame arranged to move in the vertical plane, one or more heated rollers each of which bears against two of the supporting rollers through the endless band or apron, means for positively driving both the supporting andthe heated rollers so that the peripheral s eed of the latter is superior to that of the ormer, means for reversing-the direction of rotation of both sets of rollers, and means for automatically separating the two sets of rollers'after the band or apron pas Itlraveled a predetermined distance, as set ort 2. In an ironing machine, the combination of an endless band or apron, a plurality of supporting rollers mounted in fixed bearings carried by a frame arranged to move in the vertical plane, one or more heated rollers each of which bears a ainst two of the supporting rollers througl i the endless band or apron, means for positively driving both the supporting and the heated rollers so that the peripheral speed of the latter is superior to that of the former, means for reversin the direction of rotation of both sets of rfilers, means for automatically separating the two sets of rollers after the band or apron has traveled a predetermined. distance, and means for rendering said automatic device inoperative, as set forth.

tween the heated and the supporting rollersfoot lever s the said lever in rising is held by t e frame y drops it causes the latch formed '1 3. :Inan ironing machine, the combination of an endless band or apron, a plurality of supporting rollers mounted in fixed bearings carried bya frame arranged to move in the vertical plane, one or more heated rollers each of which bear a ainst two of the sup porting rollers throng the endless band or apron, means for positively driving both the supporting and the heated rollers, means for ralslng and lowering the su porting rollers, and means for automatica y disconnecting the driving mechanism when the heated and su zporting rollers areseparated whereby the sai rollers cease to rotate, as set forth.

4. In an ironing machine, the combination of an endless apron, a lurality-of supporting rollers mounted in flired bearings carried by a frame arranged to move in the vertical plane, one or more heated rollers each of which bear against two of the supporting rollers through the endless band or apron, means for ositively drivin both the supporting and the heated ro' ers, means for raising and lowering the supporting'rollers,

means for reversing the direction of rotation 3 of the two sets of rollers, and means for automatically disconnecting'the driving mechanism when the two sets of rollers are separated, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 

